Aadhaar card holders will now find it easier to acquire new SIMs

Now, mobile users in India who have Aadhaar cards can skip complex paperwork required to acquire SIM after new guidelines were issued under the government’s electronic-Know Your Customer, or e-KYC, initiative.

According to a statement released by the DoT, or the Department of Telecommunications, the Aadhaar e-KYC would replace the existing PoI/ PoA document based processes. The process would help users in hassle-free acquirement of SIMs. In the e-KYC service, customers will online authorise UIDAI through Aadhaar authentication using Aadhaar number and biometrics to provide his/her demographic data, along with his/her photograph to licensees. The procedure to acquire mobile connection would become significantly simpler as service providers would be able to provide these services through various mediums including agents, distributors, and employees.

Reports related to this say, Bharti Airtel has planned to roll out the Aadhaar-based e-KYC solution this week. Other companies such as Vodafone India and Idea also plan to rollout the new Aadhaar-based SIM acquisition system in the upcoming weeks.